Keep Questionable Synthetics Out of Organics!

Please sign your name to our petition to keep unapproved synthetic and non-organically produced “nutrient” ingredients out of organic foods.

Please scroll down to read the full text of the petition.

We will deliver the petition to the staff of the National Organic Program (USDA) and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) at the next meeting, this fall – November 29-December 2 in Savannah, Georgia – when a final decision will be made on this issue.

Federal organic law prohibits synthetic and non-organically produced ingredients from organics, unless they have been petitioned, carefully reviewed, and approved (materials like baking powder have been permitted).

But some corporate-backed members of the National Organic Standards Board, which advises the USDA Secretary on organic policy and rulemaking, would like to open the door to all synthetic and non-organically produced ingredients to be added freely to organic foods–as long as they have, theoretically, nutritional value.

Some of these unapproved “nutrient” ingredients cause health problems–DHA and ARA oils (from algae and soil fungus), for example, have been linked to serious gastrointestinal problems in some children. And most have been produced in ways that would shock any organic consumer — chemically extracted with toxic solvents, grown in genetically engineered feedstock…

We, the undersigned, ask the following:

1. The United States Department of Agriculture should take immediate and effective enforcement action against all food processors that are currently adding unapproved “nutrients” to organic foods.

2. The NOSB should reject the petition by Martek Biosciences Corporation to allow its manufactured DHA and ARA oils in organic foods, such as organic infant formula and milk. Its manufactured oil’s benefits have not been scientifically proven and have been linked to serious side effects in some infants.